Sana gets to meet the full members of SMC.
At the same time, the transferee caught someone's attention.

"Who are you?"

 

---

 

Sana happily hums an imaginary song while combing her hair in front of a mirror. It was the usual appearance she had always donned since 2 weeks ago; her uniform at the new school. Except this time, rather than an airy expression, she has a smile adorning her face. It wasn’t forced - she was surprised to see the reflection of her bright feature this early in the morning.

 

“Okaeri, Sana-chan.”

 

Maybe, that’s why.

A warm sensation fills her chest from the memory of her meeting with Tzuyu yesterday. The word wasn’t foreign for Sana, having heard it every day in the household back in Japan. But hearing it from Tzuyu felt different. As if there’s a special meaning which can only be understood by the two of them. 

A greeting that really welcomes her home, deep from the heart. 

“Oh? You’re early today.” 

Her mother expressed while preparing for their breakfast, surprised that Sana is already set for school. There’s still a few minutes left to spare and the girl is usually a punctual one, and by punctual means she’s always prepared either on time, or a few seconds late.

“You have something at school this morning?”

“Nope, just feeling like going early. It’s a good morning, anyway.”

Her mother takes a peek outside the window of their apartment, dark clouds covering the sun slowly rising between the tall buildings of the suburb. Yes, it’s rather a gloomy morning than a good one.

“Did you bump your head on the bed headboard again?”

Sana slightly giggles from her mother’s absurd question, “Really, Mama. I just feel like going to school early today.”

“No particular reason?”

“Well,” She takes a sip of her orange juice, “There was someone I met–” 

“Eh, chotto - ehhh?!” The older woman gasped in panic, “You are already in a relationship, Sana?!”

The girl laughed while shaking her head to deny her mother’s claim. “Mama, no! She’s just a friend, okay?”

“Really?” The older woman raised an eyebrow, which Sana responded with a firm nod and a grin. The former’s feature softens as she pats Sana’s head. “You’re adapting well with school?”

“I am. Don’t worry about me.”

“I know, I know... I’m really glad you have a friend. You can bring her here one day and I can prepare dinner or something.”

Sana wonders if her mother still remembers their close neighbor back then. She probably does but Sana is always up for surprises. It must be great to see her mother’s shocked face when she sees the grown up Tzuyu.  

“Are you sure you want to cook instead of the usual take-away?” Sana quirks an eyebrow with a teasing smile.

Her mother mirrored her expression, but with a pout. “Are you indicating that I’m a bad cook, Sana?”

“Even if you are, I bet she’s going to love your cooking - out of respect.”

“This kid…” Her forehead twitches from her daughter’s blatant disrespect of her poor-to-average skill in the kitchen. She was about to scold the girl, only for her cheeky daughter to escape out of the door.

“See you later, Mama!”

Sana leaves her home with skips in her steps, feeling hopeful for a great day today, only for patters of rain to suddenly fall in the middle of walking. She rummages through her bag, eyes widen in recognition from the blue umbrella. 

She still hasn’t returned it, fortunately, but she does feel a little guilty for holding the umbrella longer than she intended to. Sana is lucky she still has it, but maybe not so much for the owner. She just hopes Tzuyu has a spare to use.

She glances on her wristwatch to check the time, only to collide on a passerby rushing through the light drizzle.

Maybe, luck is really on Sana’s side that day.

“I’m sorry–”

“Tzuyu?”

“–I wasn’t… oh? Sana-unnie?”

Her eyes instantly crinkle at the sight of the taller girl, delighted with the unexpected meeting. She noticed the wet sleeves and droplets covering Tzuyu’s black hair. She probably walks through the rain without an umbrella because silly Sana, she’s the one in possession of Tzuyu’s umbrella.

Without a word, Sana pulls the baffled girl closer to shield her from the rain. Their faces unexpectedly got nearer from the close proximity - Sana realized when she looked up. 

“Uh, thanks.” Tzuyu mumbled before averting her gaze, much to Sana’s chagrin. 

“You’re welcome.” As if it was practiced ease, Sana mindlessly slips her hand through the crevice under Tzuyu’s arm. “Come closer, you’re going to catch the rain.”

Tzuyu relents silently, unaware of the small smile gracing her lips by the intimate gesture. Even after all these years, Sana is still the same. The latter might be unaware of it, but Sana has a habit of sticking closely to whoever is by her side. 

An adjective people call as skinship, Tzuyu recalls correctly. But to her, this skinship means how caring Sana is, her overflowing emotion can only be balanced out by the skin-to-skin contact of another person. It should be awkward to be this close after not meeting for years, but surprisingly the action feels nothing out of place. 

“Thank you.” Tzuyu her head with a questioning look, prompting Sana to raise her occupied hand. “For lending me your umbrella that day.”

The taller responded with a nonchalant shrug, “You look like you were about to run through the storm. I just did what was right at the moment.”

“Oh, so for you to run through the rain was the right thing, huh?”

“I survived.” Tzuyu claims with a smug smile, deliberately leaving the part where she was soaked to the core when she reached home and shivering throughout the night, barely getting a wink of sleep. 

She received a slap, a small chuckle leaving from the pouty face of Sana

“You haven’t changed a bit, Chewy-yah.”

“What do you mean?” 

“You’re still the same selfless little girl from before.”

“But you love that girl, right?”

“Yeah, I really miss her.” Sana smiled contentedly from the blush apparent on Tzuyu's cheeks - latter deliberately coughs to hide her embarrassment. 

“And you’re still the cheesy Sana-unnie.” 

She nudges Sana’s rib through their connected arms, causing laughter to erupt from the latter. She realized then how much she misses that joyous sound and their playful teasing. She pulls them closer when Sana calms down, her eyes looking straight ahead despite the soft smile plastered on her face.

I miss you too.

 

*

 

They shared small conversations, slowly catching up with each other which consisted of where Sana’s living right now and does granny still nags all the time. Tzuyu is a bit disappointed to find out her childhood friend is no longer staying in the house next door - she stays in the same district with the school while Tzuyu has to travel a distance of one station by bus. Sana mentions her mother’s invitation for dinner, which results in the younger girl gushing out how much she misses auntie’s cooking. 

Sana gives her a bored look, not believing the gullible Tzuyu is still a fan of her mother’s bland dishes. She starts comparing granny’s cooking being better and more appetizing, only for Tzuyu to recall the tragedy where she almost fainted from food poisoning. Sana ended up in the hospital for 3 days due to acute gastroenteritis. She’s to blame after all for not washing her hands after playing in the dirt.

By the time they saw the school building in the vicinity, the rain had already subsided. Tzuyu, who had successfully seized the umbrella from Sana’s hand with her quick ninja moves, tilts the umbrella away while making sure not a drop falls on her friend. They are nearing the school gate when Tzuyu suddenly stops.

“What’s wrong?” 

“You can go first. I’m waiting for my friends.”

“Oh, the cute short pair?”

Tzuyu almost snorted from Sana’s obvious description of the duo. “Yeah, them.”

“Oh, you’re not going to introduce me to your friends?” Sana puts on a small pout, quickly catching up on her friend’s sudden coyness.

Tzuyu rubs her nape in contemplation, recalling the almost slip up of those troublemakers. It’s obvious her friends are going to cause more misunderstandings by their mischievous and bold nature. 

Well, it was mostly Dahyun who’s the master planner and ringleader of these shenanigans. Chaeyoung just went along with the sole intention of having fun because that’s what high school kids are supposed to do, was what she said. While Tzuyu… let’s just say she was dragged along as their guardian in case those two dimwits end up in trouble and needs a knight in shining armor to haul them away from the mess. 

“Oh, I see…” 

Tzuyu whips her attention to the smirking girl - her eyebrows wiggling in an annoying way. “You’re afraid they are going to expose your embarrassing stories to me, aren’t you Chewy?”

“W-What?”

“Hmm, too bad. I already met them.” Sana used her elbow to prod her repeatedly, the latter frowning from her clearly doomed fate at the realization that Sana already knows her friends.

Dahyun and Chaeyoung? A full course headache.

Sana and DubChaeng? A chronic migraine with a side dish of pain in the . 

As if the gods above heard her thoughts, she catches the familiar laughter of her friends slowly approaching the gate. Tzuyu sighs, feeling tired all of a sudden.

“Oh? I see a tall creature!”

She slowly turns around, facing her cheeky friends with a strained smile. 

“Yah, Yoda! Why didn’t you wait for us at the usual place?”

“I got an errand to do.” She explained honestly, since she was indeed helping her grandmother to bring some cleaning materials to her working place.

The duo inclined their heads in understanding, patting their tall friend with a proud face and sugar-coated praises. Dahyun was the first to notice Sana standing all by herself on the side, silently enjoying the interaction of the abnormally matching friends. 

“Sana? What are you doing over there?”

She waves back with a small smile, “I was just talking with Tzuyu.”

“This tol thing?” Dahyun wears a skeptical look, “Did she do something bad to you, Sana? Was she asking for lunch money? I’m sorry, this kid is a bit savage and rough around the edges since she’s from another land, if you know what I mean.”

Tzuyu deeply frowns, “Yah, I’m still here.”

“Shh, don’t interrupt. It’s rude.” She glares at her tall friend before turning back to Sana, shaking her head disapprovingly. “See? This is exactly what I was talking about. She lacks manners.”

Tzuyu rolls her eyes in exasperation, only to meet Sana’s gaze filled with glints of amusement and…  

Oh no, she’s smirking. That’s not good. I should be worried… right?

“Nah, I’m just returning the umbrella she lent me.”

Tzuyu heaves in relief, thankful that Sana was able to read the mood that she’s not comfortable to tell about them, yet. She receives a subtle wink, which actually looks ridiculous but cute nonetheless, a signal that Sana got her back. 

“Oh yeah, you did mention that. Wait, before I forget.” Dahyun clears , her face turning serious as she bows like a gentleman. “Sana, as the leader of the group-”

“Unofficially.” Chaeyoung who was busy blowing her gum to a bigger one each time it burst, interjects with a loud pop sound, earning a side-glare from the self-proclaimed leader. She responds with a shrug, unbothered. 

Dahyun returns her attention to the expecting girl patiently waiting with the same smile. “I would like to introduce you to the last member of SMC.”

Chaeyoung rolled her eyes, “You know, you’re a failure as our leader.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The professed leader scowls to her minion. “Sorry, please ignore the tiny dwarf.”

“Yah-!”

“Tzuyu, come here!” Dahyun quickly pulls Tzuyu’s wrist before the cub could interrupt, putting the taller in a chokehold. 

“HURK! H-Hey… Yah! L-Let go, D-Dahyun!” Tzuyu struggled, slapping Dahyun’s arm to free her from the strangling hold. 

“You’re not running away again, you giant.”

Sana watches with worried eyes as her tall friend is forced to hunch in an uncomfortable state with Dahyun literally hanging on her neck. 

Noticing the concerned look of the new girl, Chaeyoung waves them off with a snort. “Dahyun’s just doing the routine stretching exercise for Tzuyu’s long back. She really needs it with her stiff posture.”

It looks more like a muscle straining than stretching, Sana thought. 

Dahyun let Tzuyu go after muttering some death threats if she ever tries to run away from them. Tzuyu relents while rubbing her sore neck, mentally devising a master plan to buy all the chocopie stock in the school’s cafeteria for the whole week as revenge.

“That’s one way to tame her. It’s a really nice trick.” Dahyun explained with a loud cackle, only for her cheery face to morph into a daunting one.

“Tzuyu, hand!” 

“Ha?”

“Hand!” Dahyun instructed while pointing to the long limb. Tzuyu follows like an obedient dog, not before letting out a small sigh which didn’t go unnoticed by her childhood friend. Sana lets out a silent giggle before quickly switching to a straight face when Dahyun turns to her.

“Sana, this is Chou Tzuyu, the intimidating maknae of our group.”

The corner of her lips tugs upward from the dark hues appearing on Tzuyu’s cheeks as she stands awkwardly before her. Sana gives her friend a knowing look, signaling Tzuyu to just play along.

“It’s nice to see you again, Tzuyu.” She reaches for Tzuyu’s hand, feeling a slight jolt from the touch. Tzuyu wanted to laugh at the absurdity of these… acting? Well, whatever Sana is doing, she decided to join in. Who knows, maybe she can pay back on Dahyun with Sana as an accomplice. 

Tzuyu grins, her head tilting to the side to acknowledge the mock greeting. “Likewise, Sana.”

Dahyun claps her hand, satisfied with their first interaction, only for the morning bell to ring at the same time. The girls make their way to their designated floor for second years, with DubChaeng mostly talking to Sana while Tzuyu watches closely a few steps behind, exchanging a few secret glances with the squirrel-like girl. They parted ways after agreeing (more like being forced by Dahyun) to have lunch together later.

Lunch time comes, and the girls eat their lunch normally. It was too normal, that Dahyun was caught speechless watching the other two casually share their meal for the first time as if they’ve done it many times before.

“You made those?” Sana peeks at the small metal containers of chili prawns, stir-fried vegetables and some steamed dumplings.

“No, not today. Grandma made them - she’s craving Chinese food.”

“Really? They look good!”

“Want a taste?”

Sana happily nods while taking a piece of prawn from the offered container. Tzuyu reciprocates the smile as she adds other dishes into Sana’s lunchbox which the latter gladly accepts. They ignore the obvious suspicious pair of eyes watching their interaction intently as they enjoy their meal.

Dahyun closely monitors the two in front of her as she scoots closer to Chaeyoung, currently busy stuffing her already full small mouth with rice. She jabs the girl for her attention, her eyeballs frantically moving left and right between Sana and Tzuyu and back to the confused cub.

“Mwoh?” She responded with a full mouth, some rice splattered out.

Dahyun grits her teeth, now her forehead and non-existent eyebrows decided to join in with the mind-boggling sign language as she moves them animatedly, despite the frown on Chaeyoung’s face getting deeper and more puzzled by the seconds.

“Bro? You okay? Was the food drugged or something?” Chaeyoung asked in a hushed whisper, not wanting Tzuyu to listen to their PG-18 conversation since she’s still a kid in their eyes.

“I’m fine, but not those two!”

“What, you drugged them instead? Yah, how could you-”

“No, I didn’t drug them! I don’t even know what they look like. We’re underage, remember?”

“Then what’s bothering you?”

“Them!” Dahyun grasps Chaeyoung’s small head and whips it towards the pair happily sharing their food. “What do you see?”

“Tzuyu and Sana…?” She stated the obvious, only to earn a smack on her head. “Ow! Yah, you want me to grow shorter?”

“People grow taller, Chaeng, not shorter.” Dahyun rolled her eyes, “Well, except for you.”

“Hey-!”

“Not that it matters right now.” The pale girl shrugs her off. “Those two are strangely quiet comfortable with each other, aren’t they?”

Chaeyoung nods, followed with a shake of her head and a dumbfounded frown. “I still don’t get it.”

“Too comfortable, if you look closely.”

Chaeyoung narrows her eyes, and gasps. “Don’t tell me….”

“You got it, bro.”

“No way, bro.”

“But it’s rather WAY right now, bro.”

“Bro…”

“You know what we’re gonna do?”

“Exactly what we’re going to do!” Chaeyoung exclaimed excitedly, only for her forehead to crease again. “Right...?”

“Yeah! We think alike, bro!”

“Bro! We’re so dope!” The two bump their fists, about to be followed by a homie hug but a long hand appears out of nowhere and stops their unnecessary handshakes.

“You guys are not doing anything.” Tzuyu intervened with her usual don't-start-anything-silly-or-else face.

“But-“

“No.”

“I haven’t-“

“Nope.” 

Tzuyu’s eyes become as sharp as daggers, the small people backing away before cowering like a kicked puppy. “No funny business. Got it?”

Both of them glumly nod, “Got it…”

In the middle of these two getting silently reprimanded, laughter suddenly erupts. The three heads whip towards the owner who was trying hard to hide her amusement but failed to do so when she saw the sullen look of Dahyun and Chaeyoung dejectedly surrendering to the youngest. 

Sana was caught embarrassed by the sudden stare, her hand clamping out of reflex. She was about to apologize, only for Dahyun to stand on her feet and point accusingly to the tall girl.

“Did you see that? Did you see that?! Aish, I told you she’s a bully… this yoda, aishh!”

“Yah, stop saying that! I’m not a bully!”

“Chaeyoung, she’s a bully right?!”

“I don’t know, I just met her.” Chaeyoung turns away while sipping her juice, ignoring the loud protest from the pale girl who’s flapping her arms like a bird. 

A wide grin plastered on Sana’s face from their friendly banters and innocent jabs, before her gaze fell on the tallest. 

Few years ago, it would be impossible to see Tzuyu hanging out with someone else other than Sana. The girl had trouble opening up to people, it would be a miracle to see Tzuyu strike up a conversation - even if she did, she wouldn’t last for a few seconds before shying herself off and running back to Sana, taking refuge behind the latter with apparent blush on her cheeks. 

This different side of Tzuyu is something new, but also endearing - Sana is glad she gets the chance to see Tzuyu being carefree with her new friends other than her. From their interactions, she’s sure Dahyun and Chaeyoung mean a lot to her childhood friend.

She keeps on watching them with a fond smile, ignoring the slight queasiness floating in her chest.

 

*

 

The remaining days went by smoothly for them. 

The members of SMC were more than thrilled to have a new addition to their group, despite Tzuyu’s protest to not include Sana in their mischief. She can see how Sana easily warms up to the troublemakers and she’s really grateful with their effort to include her childhood friend in every conversation they had.

Well, anything that doesn’t involve Tzuyu being ridiculed shamelessly by her friends.

Somehow, despite being younger, she feels a sense of responsibility to keep an eye for Sana. Tzuyu thought it was because Sana had just transferred there, still needing time to adjust with everything. However, she’s aware of something odd about her childhood friend.

Sana seems a bit distant, guarded at times when she’s with Dahyun and Chaeyoung, as compared to when they are together. She still remembers Sana as the social butterfly, the one that greets every person she meets by the street as compared to her timid self. 

But people change as they grow up - so does Sana. 

The last bell of the day rings, snapping Tzuyu out of her reveries as the last class ends. She stretches her hand upwards, popping her numb muscles back to life before preparing herself to go back home. Chaeyoung had already run off to her track team practice while Dahyun’s probably on her class duty today. 

She quickly walks to the door, hoping to catch a familiar face walking down the hallway. After the crowd dispersed, she strides to the class on the other end of the hallway and takes a peek inside. She frowns at the vacant class - looks like she’s going back alone today. 

Just as she turns around to leave, a grinning face pops out before her.

“Jihyo-unnie!”

The mentioned girl laughs, showing her pearly white teeth. “Did I scare you?”

“Not really,” Tzuyu wears a grateful smile, a modest gesture for the senior she looks up to. “What are you doing here, unnie?”

“I was meeting with the second-year representative.” She walks beside the tall girl in slow pace, not in a rush anymore since she had finished her task for the day. “You’re going home, Tzuyu?”

The girl merely nods, before they walk together in silence. It’s not an uncomfortable silence, one which Jihyo had learned to appreciate when she’s together with the reserved second year. However, she notices something different from the girl - or rather, something apparent on her usually stoic face.

“Omo, Chou Tzuyu is smiling.” She points out, an excited smile on her face. “Something good happened?”

“Is it a crime to smile?” Tzuyu responded in a nonchalant way, a smirk playing on her lips.

It seems weird for Jihyo, because this is the first smirk she ever saw from the timid junior.

“Yah! What’s with you?”

Tzuyu shrugs, not really sure herself why she’s been smiling so much. She doesn’t even realize the state of her face until Jihyo points it out. As she racks her brain for the real cause, Jihyo makes a humming noise.

“You don’t need a reason to smile, Tzuyu.” Jihyo tries to appease the girl who’s about to drown in her own thoughts. “You look better with a smile on.”

Just on cue, Tzuyu's high cheekbones raised, showing the trademark dimpled smile so dazzling, it momentarily blinds Jihyo before she’s too infected by the gesture. 

However, their grin-exchanging session was cut short when they heard commotion coming from outside the open window.

They poke their heads out the window of the second-story hallway, finding two female students fighting on the back courtyard. Jihyo sighed deeply with a shake of her head. 

Of course, as a committee member of the student council, she is responsible to prevent the girls from pulling hair and wrecking their uniform. There goes her plan to go straight back home. 

She heard a small gasp coming from Tzuyu, her head snaps to the tall girl. She wonders if Tzuyu knows them, considering the reaction. However, the junior’s attention is not at the fighting students on the school ground - her gaze is directed to the other side. 

“Unnie, I have to go.”

“Huh? Tzuyu, where–”

But the girl had already run down the hallway, earning a shout from a surprised teacher leaving one of the classrooms.

Jihyo turns back to the spot Tzuyu was looking at earlier, her eyes falling on a person sitting by the chair accompanied by a short-haired girl. She inspects the face, recognizing her as the new transferee from Japan who’s been the talk of the school. The girl is pretty, as rumored, and Jihyo finds nothing special with her since everyone is beautiful in their own way.

Perhaps, she should have thought twice when she made that statement because Jihyo suddenly feels her chest suddenly constricting. She feels a pang when she notices the tears running down the girl’s face. But it wasn’t the tears that intrigued her, but the calm expression and gentle smile she had while crying.

There’s a twitch in her chest, and Jihyo doesn’t like it. 

 

 

 

Who are you?